Scoring the final triumph
Battling in rain and cold
After years of being the bridesmaids and falling at the final hurdle, the Downlands AFLQ Darling Downs under-17 girls team has at long last reached the holy grail by claiming an 11-9 win over University Cougars in the grand final.
Downlands coach Dan Fraser was beyond proud of his team as they erased their demons of the past and finally claimed a premiership.
“The girls have come from all over Australia as boarding students to our school, some of them have been in the side for three or four years where we’ve made grand finals every year and never quite got the result,” Fraser said.
“So I am super proud of all the hard work they’ve put in.
“Especially for the senior girls, our year 11s and 12s in particular who have been in the side for pretty much the whole four or five year journey.
“Some of them, they needed to win this year or they were not going to get one for the school so I am really proud of those ones in particular.”
University was the benchmark for the entire competition and was undefeated until the grand final but as the grey skies rolled over and the rain began to pour, Fraser knew his side was in with a chance.
“It probably worked a bit in our favour to be fair because the Cougars have been an amazing side all year,” he said.
“They are a hard running side and in the dry games that we’ve played them this year they’ve beaten us comfortably.
“When I woke up and saw the weather I thought this might bring the game back to our level a little bit.
“I said to the girls before the game, ‘we just need to be prepared to get down, get dirty and muddy and hopefully keep forcing the ball our way’ and it turned out to be the case.”
As the game went down to the wire and less than one kick separated the two sides in a low-scoring contest, nerves were sky-high across the ground but the Downlands girls remained resolute.
“I was extremely nervous,” Fraser said.
“We have lost grand finals by less than a goal before and I could just see a scenario where we’d been in front all day and then we’d lose it by a kick in the last five minutes.
“The girls just weren’t going to let that happen though and two or three players in the backline in particular really stood up with big tackles when it looked like Cougars were going to run into an open forward line and we just chased them down.”
Fraser was “immensely proud” of captain Nelly Bruce, who was the best on ground for the grand final, and also the league best and fairest.
“She puts her heart and soul into the team; footy is her sport, she lives for it,” he said.
“Her family has been really integral to our side over the years and for her to be able to lift the cup as a premiership captain with Jorja Niki is pretty special.”
Fraser also mentioned the special bond within the team, upheld by the values of Downlands College.
“It is the school that draws the girls to Downlands and the ethos we have got about community and heart and all just coming together as a community,” he said.
“Then for a lot of the girls who come from remote areas, they know a bit about footy and it is a way for them to make friends and to find a family at the school.
“Being a part of a footy team is part of what makes a family for them at the school.”
After finally taking the flag, Fraser is excited for what the future holds.
“As much as we are losing a few year 12s at the top end of the team, there is a really great bunch of grade 10s in particular who could really set us up going forward as well as some grade sevens…
“We’ve got the younger girls coming through as well so it is looking bright for the future.”
BOMBERS SOAR
Against the odds, the South Toowoomba Bombers claimed a stunning come-from-behind win over the Toowoomba Tigers to win the 2024 AFLQ Darling Downs under-17 boys premiership on Sunday.
After trailing for most of the game, the Bombers fought through cold, wet and windy conditions to seal a 43-33 win.
South Toowoomba coach Ryan Hodgson was delighted with his side’s resilience after they pulled off the comeback.
“I’m stoked, especially when we were down, to come back and win was a pretty amazing effort,” he said.
As the clash went down to the wire, the atmosphere was electric at Concordia College, which boosted the Bombers players to get the job done.
“Everyone was off their seat; the crowd and atmosphere was amazing,” Hodgson said.
With the Tigers dominating the contest throughout the first half, Hodgson called on his senior players to lift and knew something special would be needed to turn the side around.
“The captain, young Jordi Groom, he was injured with a sore knee and said ‘I want to come off’ and I said ‘you’re captain and you’re going to full forward’ and he kicked three goals to win the game for us,” he said.
“I put it on a few of the older boys who needed to lift and I instilled that we are never out of contest and just take it one goal at a time.”
It was a moment of brilliance which kickstarted the fightback, with Ben Smith stepping up to help the Bombers soar.
“Ben Smith kicked a goal from 50m out that sparked us and got us going and he won the man of the match as well,” Hodgson said.